External risk intelligence

IBM DataPower Gateway Buffer Overflow Executes Arbitrary Code

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2026-14991

IBM DataPower Gateway is an enterprise appliance specifically designed to serve as an internet-facing gateway, API proxy, or integration endpoint. Its primary role in a network architecture is to reside at the network edge to manage traffic, making its services and management interfaces inherently public-facing by design in common deployment patterns.

Out-of-bounds Write

Halo Surface Signal: 5 out of 5 — more likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified in IBM DataPower Gateway, a technology commonly used for managing network traffic and API access. This buffer overflow issue could allow for unauthorized code execution, posing a significant risk to system integrity. The primary concern at this time is to confirm if this technology is in use and assess any potential exposure.

Local users can run unauthorized code.
Affects internet-facing network gateways.
Confirm relevance and exposure of this product.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted network traffic to an exposed IBM DataPower Gateway. The gateway's improper handling of data boundaries in a specific feature could lead to a buffer overflow, potentially allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system.

Network exposure required.
Vulnerable feature overflowed.
Arbitrary code execution possible.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability could allow a local user to execute arbitrary code on the system by overflowing a buffer due to improper bounds checking.

System data and service behavior at risk.
Local user overflows buffer with code.
Arbitrary code execution on system.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

Understanding ownership and the initial triage steps for this vulnerability is critical. Given that IBM DataPower Gateway often functions as an internet-facing gateway or API proxy, infrastructure or platform teams are typically responsible for its maintenance. The first practical step involves identifying all instances of the affected technology, confirming their exposure and business criticality, and locating the accountable owner to plan a risk-based remediation strategy.

Infrastructure or platform teams own the issue.
Verify exposure and business criticality first.
Plan remediation based on identified risk.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is IBM DataPower Gateway?

IBM DataPower Gateway is an enterprise appliance that functions as a security and integration bridge. It is widely used to manage, secure, and route traffic between different network layers, often serving as an API proxy or integration endpoint to connect internal services with external requests.

What does buffer overflow mean for CVE-2026-14991?

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-787, which occurs when a program writes data beyond the intended boundaries of a memory buffer. In the context of this CVE, improper bounds checking allows an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory, potentially leading to the execution of arbitrary, unauthorized code on the system.

How does an attacker trigger this vulnerability?

An attacker exploits this by sending specially crafted network traffic that exceeds the capacity of the buffer. This flaw is triggered when the system fails to correctly validate the size of incoming data. It is important to note that standard, well-formed traffic that adheres to expected data limits does not trigger this overflow.

Is my IBM DataPower Gateway at risk?

Halo Surface Signal indicates that because IBM DataPower Gateway is frequently deployed as an internet-facing edge device to manage API traffic, it is often exposed to the public network. If your instance is reachable from the internet, it faces a higher level of risk compared to appliances restricted to internal segments.

What should I do first to address CVE-2026-14991?

Begin by creating an inventory of all IBM DataPower Gateway instances within your environment. Once identified, confirm which devices are internet-facing and verify their current software version against the list of affected releases to prioritize your response efforts based on the specific business criticality of each node.

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7289775

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.